Widow's Poison and Tarantula's Bite
by Spinjitzugirl6310
Summary: Natasha Romanoff has settled in to her new place in the Avengers as a good guy. Her niece, the next Black Widow, has been under her training for years, and is fighting for a place in the Avengers, while getting used to Natasha's other protege. The clash of personalities is just making hero work harder, and the goal for the Avengers seem far away.
1. Chapter 1

Barbara Moore was the newest Black Widow in a long line.

Some had been evil.

Others had been good.

Barbara herself aspired to be like Natasha Romanoff, the best of the group.

Because, in fact, Natasha was her mentor, and her aunt.

"Aunt Widow?"

"Yes, Barbara?"

"When can I join the Avengers?"

"When you are ready. You are still very young."

"I AM ready! I've trained for years; you've taught me a lot!"

"Not enough. You need more experience."

Barbara slumped, dejected.

"But I promise," Natalia put a hand on her shoulder. "You will become a part of it soon enough."

Natasha herself wished she could admit Barbara into the group. She was powerful, very powerful. She could take out a group of soldiers by herself.

_The thing is,_ she thought ruefully. _She __**is**__ ready._ Iron Man had said that she should wait to let her in. Captain America had looked somewhat uncomfortable, and Bruce had looked a bit guilty at Iron Man's words: "No Sidekicks. That's Batman and Superman and all those other's gig."

Come to think of it, Hawkeye had looked a bit disconcerted. So she had changed the subject to see if they could get anyone else in the group. She had suggested Abomination, a hulk-like mutant as a joke. Bruce had started and looked up at her in shock. She had shaken her head, and he relaxed.

Which led to two questions.

What was Bruce worried about, and why was there a rule against sidekicks.

Being a former master assassin, she had herself trained to be deadly. She had trained Barbara to be as deadly as she herself was. _The fact is, she makes a better Widow then I ever was_, she thought ruefully. It was mostly because of the red in her ledger. She had known Barbara for a long time. Being her aunt also meant that she had to look after her wellbeing. Barbara had been orphaned at age seven by the people that Natasha was supposed to kill.

They had been loyal to each other for years. She should tell her the other part of the truth.  
And soon.

"You have another protégé," Barbara said flatly.

"Yes."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Well…I just wanted to see if you could work together. Do you mind?"  
Natasha waited for an answer.

Barbara knew that she was her aunt's only soft spot, and that was the only reason she was getting asked. She sighed inwardly.

She supposed that she had to work with him/her, whoever it was. Her aunt would not have taken on another protégé without reason. She knew her aunt, and Barbara knew that she was all business. "I suppose I don't," she lied. Natasha nodded once, and spun and left the room.

Barbara sat back.

_So, she has a new protégé, _she mused. _I do wonder why we aren't allowed in the Avengers. We have more than enough skill._

_And then there's this other protégé. I wonder about them. What are they like?  
_The question was echoed in another person's head a few rooms away, and Ian Williams shook the though from his mind, and followed Black Widow out the doorway.

**Like it? Hate it? Constructive critisisim is always welcome.**


	2. Chapter 2

"This is your new teammate or something," Natasha said. "Ian, come in here."  
The boy stepped cautiously into the room.

Barbara looked the new arrival up and down. He was on the tall side, with blond hair and brown eyes. He had a strong face.

He contrasted sharply with Barbara's black hair and green eyes. While he was built, she was slender. He looked to be about 6 feet, and she was 5'6. She finished looking him over and nodded curtly.

"I am one of the Black Widows," she said simply. He nodded.

"Does it get confusing? Both of you being Black Widows?" he asked.

"No," Natasha told him. "I'm usually referred to as Widow, she's usually just called Spider by friends of hers."

"Oh." Ian extended a hand. "Good to meet you…other Black Widow."

Barbara shook it solemnly. "You have permission to call me Spider."

"Thank you," Ian said.

"What is your code name?" Barbara asked.

"Tarantula," he answered. A beep sounded through the room. Natasha looked down sheepishly.

"It's my phone," she explained. She left the room to answer it. Tarantula and Spider were left awkwardly looking at each other.

"So….how are you feeling today?" Ian made an attempt to make conversation.

"Lousy. I had almost no sleep last night," Barbara said grumpily.

"Ah. I see….." Ian trailed off. His eyes wandered the room, which happened to be a lab. "What do you do in here?"

"Experiment. I like science, and I help with some of the stuff Stark Industries puts out."

"They let you do that?" Ian asked in disbelief.

"Look, my aunt is Black Widow. I doubt Mr. Stark is going to argue with her. How long have you been training?"

"About three years."

"Three years, and she didn't tell me about you?!" Barbara asked. Ian shrugged.

"No, I guess not. Why are you so skeptical of me?"

"Well, I don't trust people. I trust my aunt, and I trust myself. Adding anyone else is a problem. She used to be a Master Assassin, she is like that too. I don't understand why she trusts you." Barbara shook her head.

"I suppose you're supposed to find out," Ian said. "When is our first mission?"

"I don't know," Barbara began. Natasha walked back in the room with a serious face.

"This is it," she told them. "Your first mission."

"Alright!" Ian rubbed his hands together. "Let's get down to business!"

"What is it?" Barbara asked doubtfully.

"A shipment of Stark Industries weapons has disappeared on its way to the Maxwell Air Force Base. We have to go get them back. It's a relatively small mission, and they think it's only me, but I think it's time you two went on a mission together."

Ian and Barbara looked at each other grimly.

**Ta da!  
Please Read and Review.**


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